Method Of Shipping and Displaying Products For Sale To Consumers And Associated Product Display

ABSTRACT

A pallet display with a plurality of product display sides, and preferably more than one product display side along a merchandising side of a display pallet or display pallet footprint. Products thus can be displayed adjacent one another but not aligned, thereby increasing the number of planogrammable areas. The pallet display may be modular so that the sections can be disassembled and fitted on half a shipping pallet, allowing two pallet displays to ship on a single shipping pallet. Portions of the display may also be disassembled and used as a separate and preferably different type of product display, such as a power wing or side wing. The display may be symmetrical about a diagonal of a display pallet, such that only one essentially triangular pallet display may be formed to fit within a triangular footprint.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method of shipping a large quantityof promotional or base products to a retailer for display and sale toconsumers. More particularly, the present invention relates to a methodof shipping products on a pallet for display on such pallet (or adifferent display pallet) at a retail location for sale to consumers.The present invention also relates to a method of packing and shippingproduct display units efficiently to increase the number of productdisplay units that may be shipped in a given shipment volume.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Pallets are commonly used to ship large quantities of products. Forinstance, manufacturers or client marketers may load products ontopallets for transport from manufacturing facilities to warehouses ordistribution centers, and then for further transport from warehouses ordistribution centers to the manufacturer's customers, such as retailers.Although retail stores generally stock their goods in purchasing aislesgrouped by product category (e.g., pharmacy goods, cleaning products orsupplies, paper goods, stationery supplies, foods, pet food and pet careitems, clothes, toys, entertainment media, electronics, etc.), and mayeven have more specific category breakdowns for purchasing aisles (suchas the following product categories under the more generic “pharmacygoods” category: oral care products, wound care products, hair careproducts, baby products, makeup, over-the-counter medicines; or thefollowing product categories under the more generic “foods” category:cereals, beverages, dairy, meat, frozen foods, snacks, breads, bakingitems, canned goods), retailers may use the pallets on which productsare shipped for in-store display of the products in the wider aislesthat are generally not dedicated to a given product category. Such wideraisles of the store (commonly called “main drive aisles” or the “actionalley” or “racetrack”) generally are predominantly provided for consumertravel to access the dedicated purchasing aisles.

The use of pallets in such manner provides various cost savings to boththe retailers and the manufacturers. For instance, the pallet loadedwith products may be deposited (e.g., by fork lift) directly at thedisplay location in the store, rather than deposited in the stock room,back room, or inventory, thus freeing up space in the retailer's stockroom. Employees need not expend time and energy transporting cartons ofthe product from the stock room to a shelf (or other display area) at amerchandising location, such as a home location or in-line location forthe product (the essentially permanent location for the product at agiven retail location), unloading the cartons, and stocking the shelfwith the product. Because larger quantities of a product may bedisplayed on a pallet than on a typical store shelf, less time andeffort is expended in re-stocking the display for the product. In fact,products typically are shopped down from a pallet and not restocked.Moreover, because larger quantities of a product may be displayed on apallet than on a typical store shelf, all products remain on the palletand the retailer need not dedicate stock room space to store products(as would be the case if such products were displayed on a shelf whichcannot accommodate the full pallet-load of products). Once the displayis largely sold down/sold through, the stock from a promotional displaymay be placed in the home location of the product.

Manufacturers benefit from having their products displayed on a palletbecause pallets typically draw consumer attention by virtue of theirmass and stand-alone location along the wider aisles or main driveaisles of the store generally traveled to access the purchasing aisles.The display of products on pallets positioned in a main drive aisleinduces impulse purchases, not only because such displays tend to grabconsumer attention, but also because the product is positioned forhigher visibility. More particularly, there is more foot traffic (andthus a greater number of potential shopper pass such display) in a maindrive aisle because consumers typically circulate through the store bywalking the perimeter or main drive aisle. Moreover, normally productsare only seen if a consumer is in the “home” purchasing aisle for suchproduct. The main drive aisle is not the home location for anyparticular product category, but, instead, is traveled by the consumerto reach a desired product category aisle. By definition, products on apallet in a main drive aisle are not in their home location. Thus, evenif the consumer passes over the home purchasing aisle for a givenproduct (without walking down such aisle), if such product is displayedin a main drive aisle, the consumer likely will view such product intransit to other purchasing aisles. Another benefit of palletsdisplaying products outside their home location is that the productsgenerally are away from competitor products, since competitor productsgenerally are not stocked on the same pallet (in contrast with the mixof competitor products in a planogrammed shelving area in the homepurchasing aisle for that product category). The exclusivity amanufacturer gains from the essentially isolated display of its productsis particularly desirable in that consumers are not distracted by otherproducts and are more likely to buy the manufacturers' product over acompetitor's product.

In order to enhance saleability and the attention-grabbing aspect,including the visual impact/aesthetic impact, stopping power, orsignature—personality (see and remember quality) of displaying productson pallets, manufacturers may utilize pallet displays, which are a typeof display designed to rest on a pallet (or at least to be set amongother pallets used to display products). Pallet displays permit theefficient shipping and rollout to sales floors provided by simplydisplaying products on a pallet, yet also permit various additionalbenefits. One significant benefit of pallet displays is that they may bedesigned to have various features that attract consumers. For instance,pallet displays generally contain sufficient panels or “billboard” spaceor printable surface area for graphics, product imagery, branding (e.g.,logos), consumer education, or other messaging and communications.Generally, more information may be provided on a pallet display than atthe home location for the product (on a shelf in the aisle dedicated tothe product category for such product). Structural elements may also beprovided to enhance the display (such as by providing additionalgraphics, etc., or audio-visual effects, etc.). Likewise, the palletdisplay may have a unique shape or configuration enhancing display ofthe products. Pallet displays thus are generally more aestheticallyappealing than displays of products merely stacked on a pallet.

Despite the above benefits, pallet displays still present severaldisadvantages. Because of the desire to reduce the time normallyrequired by a retailer to stock and to display products, pallet displaysoften are designed to minimize if not to eliminate the need to refaceproducts (to bring products to the front edge of the display shelf).Therefore, the depth of each display shelf generally does not extend tothe center of the pallet, leaving empty, unutilized space at the centerof the pallet. Also, because some products are not sold in sufficientlyhigh volume, it is desirable to leave empty space in the middle of thepallet so that the pallet display maintains a well-stocked appearanceover the time necessary to sell down the products in the pallet display.Because pallet displays are usually shipped in an already-assembledform, pallets carrying pallet displays also carry a lot of empty spacewithin such pallet display. Approximately 25-50% of a given cubic volumededicated to shipping products (such as on a freight truck or train) maybe empty space captured by the display for the products.

Moreover, pallet displays often are not amenable to displaying differentproducts. A GMA (Grocery Manufacturers Association) standard pallet is a40 inch (101.6 cm)×48 inch (1219.2 cm) rectangle. If more than oneproduct is to be displayed along one side of the pallet, there may notbe enough space for the desired panels for providing messaging for morethan one of the mix of products displayed on such side. Even a 48 inch(1219.2 cm)×48 inch (1219.2 cm) square pallet may not readily providesufficient space to display more than one type of product while alsopermitting the desired messaging.

Finally, pallet displays often are provided for promotional productsthat generally are available only on displays. Such promotionalproducts, by their nature, do not have a home location and thereforeshould not or even cannot be placed on a retail shelf (or other morepermanent display area) once the display is partially sold through. Theretailer thus does not have a ready location available for a relativelysmall number of products left on a large promotional pallet display thathas been mostly sold down/sold through. Such remaining products may betransferred by the retailer from their promotional pallet display toanother location that does not receive much shopper traffic/visibility(thus reducing the likelihood of being purchased) to make room for anew, fully-stocked pallet display. The transferred remaining productsmay be sold at a significantly reduced price, resulting in losses bothto the retailer as well as to the manufacturer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It therefore would be desirable to form a pallet display that reducesempty space typical of pallet displays while allowing ready and easyconsumer access to products in the display. It would be furtherdesirable to provide such pallet display in an attractive form that isvisually appealing and catches shoppers' attention. Graphics, productinformation, or other messaging or visuals may be provided on the palletdisplay to encourage the consumer to choose the displayed product(s)over competitors' products.

Thus, in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a palletdisplay is formed with an increased number of product display sides topermit retailer display and consumer shopping of more than one type ofproduct, such as related products, along a given merchandising side ofthe pallet display. In accordance with one embodiment, at least twoproduct display sides of a pallet display formed in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention are at an angle with respect to agiven side of a display pallet (or at least a rectangular or squarepallet footprint) on which the pallet display is positioned. Thus, agreater display width (lateral extent of products being displayed) maybe achieved than if the products were displayed essentially parallel tothe given display pallet or pallet footprint side. Moreover, because thefront facings of the products on the angled product display sides arenot aligned, the products may be viewed together, yet are visuallydifferentiated by their relative unaligned positions.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention that need notbe achieved by the above-described pallet display, a pallet display maybe formed in accordance with principles of the present invention todisplay products along only a portion of a standard pallet, such portionbeing other than a half or quarter portion of a standard display palletor pallet footprint. As such, only a customized corresponding palletdisplay can be used on the remaining display pallet or pallet footprint.In accordance with one embodiment, a pallet display is formed inaccordance with principles of the present invention to occupy asubstantially triangular area, with products backing up along a diagonalof a standard display pallet or pallet footprint.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention that maybe achieved with either, both, or neither of the above-describedinventive pallet displays, a pallet display may be formed in accordancewith principles of the present invention to be disassembled and packedin a more compact disassembled form. More particularly, a pallet displaythat occupies the area of a standard display pallet or pallet footprintis formed in accordance with one aspect of the present invention to bedisassembled and packed in an area half that of a standard shippingpallet. Thus, at least two pallet displays may be shipped on a singleshipping pallet, and then assembled into a full-sized pallet displayoccupying the area of a full-size display pallet.

In accordance with yet another separate and independent aspect of thepresent invention, a pallet display may be formed in accordance withprinciples of the present invention to have at least one portion thatmay serve dual display functions. For example, at least a portion of apallet display in formed in accordance with this aspect of the presentinvention may be disassembled from the pallet display and used asseparate display element. More particularly, such separate displayelement may be a power wing or side kick used to display products at anend cap. Such dual function provides a home location for promotionalitems displayed on a pallet display and which otherwise would not have ahome location if moved from the pallet display for display elsewhere.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will bereadily apparent from the following detailed description of theinvention, the scope of the invention being set out in the appendedclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description will be better understood in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters representlike elements, as follows:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary pallet display formed inaccordance with principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the exemplary pallet display of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an exemplary half-pallet display formedin accordance with principles of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective of the parts of an exemplary pallet displaydisassembled and packed into the area of half a shipping palletfootprint;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of parts of an exemplary pallet displayformed in accordance with principles of the present invention and in theprocess of being assembled;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view similar to that of FIG. 5, but at a laterstage of assembly; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a portion of an exemplary pallet displaydisassembled from the exemplary pallet display and in use as a powerwing or side kick.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A pallet display may be formed with one or more separate and independentinventive features in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention. Each feature, at least alone, has unique benefits which aredesirable for, yet not critical to, the present invention. Therefore,the various separate features of the present invention need not all bepresent in order to achieve at least some of the desired characteristicsand/or benefits of the present invention. One or more separate featuresmay be combined, or only one of the various features need be present ina pallet display formed in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention. Moreover, throughout the present application, referencenumbers are used to indicate a generic element or feature of the presentinvention. The same reference number may be used to indicate elements orfeatures that are not identical in form, shape, structure, etc, yetwhich provide similar functions or benefits. Additional referencecharacters (such as letters, as opposed to numbers) may be used todifferentiate similar elements or features from one another.

An exemplary pallet display 100 embodying various principles of thepresent invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. In accordance withone aspect of the present invention, a pallet display 100 may be formedfrom a plurality of product display units 110 having a plurality ofproduct display shelves 112 on which products are displayed forpurchase. Preferably, each product display unit 110 resembles a bookcasewith aligned shelf front edges and a substantially planar vertical backwall. Each product display unit may be described as formed from avertically-extending tray having a plurality of product display levelsvertically spaced from one another, a product display shelf 112 beingformed at each level. Such a product display unit 110 may also bereferenced as a multi-level display tray, as the term “display tray” iscommonly used to reference a typically non-permanent structure holdingproducts for display. A “non-permanent” structure holding products fordisplay is to be contrasted with a store fixture (the structure thatholds and displays the majority of the store's merchandise, such as agondola, coffin, or freezer case), and may be used in conjunction with(placed on or secured or affixed to or otherwise associated with) astore fixture. It will be appreciated that the product display units 110of pallet display 100 may be formed as separable units or as unseparableunits, as will be further detailed below. Although the exemplary palletdisplay 100 of FIGS. 1 and 2 has five rows of product display shelves112 (i.e., five levels of products), it will be appreciated that suchnumber of display shelves or display levels may be altered depending onthe shelf height needed for the product to be displayed, the overalldesired dimensions for pallet display 100, the provision of informationpanels between display shelves (occupying space that would otherwise beoccupied by the display height DH of a product display shelf 112, or afraction or multiple of display height DH), or any other factorcontributing to selection of dimensions for a product display. Ifdesired, rather than loading products directly onto a product displayshelf 112, products may be placed on a separate product display tray 113for placement on a product display shelf 112. As is typical with productdisplay shelves 112 of a product display (or product display trays 113,if provided, which may be removed and placed at a different location ifdesired), front edge 114 of each or selected (one or more, but notnecessarily all) product display shelves 112 of pallet display 100 mayhave a front lip or panel 116 on which information such as productidentifiers (e.g., brand names, tag lines, logos etc.), advertisements,promotional information, educational information (information providedto educate the consumer about benefits, use, etc., of the products),graphics, images, shapes, pricing, and/or other information (suchinformation referenced herein as “display information” for the sake ofconvenience without intent to limit) may be provided. Product displayunits 110 preferably are formed of a sufficiently sturdy material suchas paperboard (preferably corrugated paperboard) or cardboard to supportproducts to displayed on product display shelves 112.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, pallet display100 has an increased number of product display sides 120 along eachmerchandising side 122. For purposes of description of the presentinvention, the term “merchandising side” is used to refer to a sidealong which products may be seen or “shopped” by a consumer (positionedfor viewing together without need for the consumer to move to adjust hisor her vantage point). In the context of a pallet display, amerchandising side may be considered to extend along a side S of adisplay pallet 124 on which the pallet display is supported, or along aside of a footprint the size and shape of a pallet if a supporting ordisplay pallet is not provided. For purposes of the description of thepresent invention, a pallet display is dimensioned and configured to fiton a support or display pallet (such as exemplary pallet 124 illustratedin FIG. 1) typically provided by retailers to support a product displaysuch as a pallet display. The dimensions of the support or displaypallet on which a pallet display formed in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention is displayed are generallypredetermined by the retailer. Thus, a pallet display formed inaccordance with the principles of the present invention is not to belimited to specific dimensions, but, instead, may be adapted to meetexternal dimensional requirements independent of the various uniqueaspects of the present invention. Also for the purposes of descriptionof the present invention, the term “product display side” is used torefer to a side along which product facings are aligned (i.e., the firstproduct in each row/column of products is brought to the face or frontedge 114 of display shelf 112 or product display tray 113, such frontedge and the products faced along such front edge defining the productdisplay side). Phrased another way, a “product display side” is definedby the plane lying along the front face of the product display (thefront face being the front of the product display to which products arefaced). Because pallet displays typically are rested on pallets inretail stores, the sides and dimensions and other features of palletdisplay 100 are described with reference to a standard square pallet,and pallet display 100 may be dimensioned to fit on a standard squarepallet. However, it will be appreciated that pallet display 100 need notbe rested on a square pallet, whether or not of standard size, and neednot even conform to the dimensions of a standard pallet. Exemplarypallet display 100 of FIGS. 1 and 2 is dimensioned to fit on a squarepallet 124, with more than one product display side 120 along eachmerchandising side 122 along a side S of a pallet 124 on which palletdisplay 100 is positioned. However, a pallet display formed inaccordance with the principles of the present invention may bedimensioned and configured to fit on a pallet of standard dimensions,i.e., a rectangle with one pair of 40 inch (101.6 cm) opposite shortsides, and one pair of 48 inch (1219.2 cm) opposite long sides, or otherpallets having non-standard dimensions. Of course, it will beappreciated that a pallet display 100 formed in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention may be a free-standing display thatcan be placed directly on the floor of a store, or on another suitablesurface, and need not have dimensions corresponding to the dimensions ofa pallet.

Preferably, a pallet display 100 formed in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention has two or more product displaysides 120 along at least one, and preferably along more than one,merchandising side 122. In the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2,each merchandising side 122 of pallet display 100 has three mutuallyunaligned product display sides 120. However, it will be appreciatedthat two, rather than three, product display sides may be provided, ormore than three product display sides may be provided. In addition, thearrangement of product display sides 120 along each merchandising side122 of a pallet display 100 formed in accordance with the principles ofthe present invention may be a repeating pattern (as in the exemplarypallet display 100 of FIGS. 1 and 2), or may be different for eachmerchandising side 122. As may be appreciated with particular referenceto FIG. 2, the arrangement of product display sides 120 of palletdisplay 100 is symmetrical about a diagonal PD across pallet display 100(and pallet 124 on which pallet display 100 is positioned or a palletfootprint within which pallet display 100 is positioned). As such, thearrangement of product display sides 120 along pairs of adjacentmerchandising sides 122 a and 122 b, or 122 b and 122 c, or 122 c and122 d, or 122 d and 122 a, are mirror images. Likewise, the arrangementof product display sides 120 along pairs of opposite merchandising sides122 a and 122 c, and 122 b and 122 d, are identical.

Because the more than one product display sides 120 of exemplary palletdisplay 100 are not aligned (i.e., front edges 112 of the displayshelves 110 of each product display side 120 do not lie along a straightline, and are not parallel to one another, or, in other words, are not180 degrees with respect to one another), the more than one productdisplay sides 120 are differentiated at least spatially from oneanother. Preferably, at least two adjacent product display sides 120along a given merchandising side 122 are not parallel to each other.Products displayed on product display sides 120 that are less than 180degrees apart from one another (such as product display sides 120 a and120 b in FIG. 2) face towards one another so a consumer may readily viewproducts on adjacent product display sides 120 at the same time, yetsuch products are physically separated or differentiated from oneanother because their facings along front edge 112 are not aligned. Assuch, the differentiated product display sides 120 permit ready displayand physical differentiation of different products displayed in palletdisplay 100. It will be appreciated that the front edges 114 of thedisplay shelves 112 or product display trays 113 of a given display unit110 preferably are aligned and substantially coplanar (thereby forming asubstantially uniformly coplanar front face of the product display unit110). In other words, all shelves 112 and/or individual product displaytrays 113 of a given display unit 110 have the same shelf depthdimension SD (see FIG. 6) such that the display unit 110 has a uniformoverall unit depth dimension UD. If desired, shelves of varying depthsmay be provided in a given display unit instead, although such variationin shelf depths may result in a reduction in product display capacity.

Pallet display 100, formed with more than one product display side 120facing but not co-aligned along a common merchandising side 122, asdescribed above, may readily be used to display more than one productsegment in a given product category. For instance, for the oral careproduct category, pallet display 100 can be used to display toothpaste,mouthwash, dental floss, and toothbrush product segments in a commonpallet display 100 that physically differentiates the segments from oneanother by displaying the segments along unaligned product display sides120. Similarly, in the wound care product category, wound cleansers,wound treatments (such as topical antibiotics), and bandages may bedisplayed together in the same pallet display 100, physicallydifferentiated by being displayed in unaligned product display sides120. Food product segments, such as cooked cereals, dry cereals, andbreakfast bars, in food product categories may likewise be arranged in acommon pallet display 100, segregated by virtue of their product displaysides 120 being unaligned. Similar principles may be applied to otherretail products or items.

In accordance with a related aspect of the present invention, a productdisplay side 120 may be provided along more than one merchandising side122 by providing a product display side diagonally across anintersection of two different merchandising sides 122. As such, thediagonally-intersecting display side may be shopped along eithermerchandising side 122 intersected by the diagonally-intersectingdisplay side. For instance, diagonally-intersecting display side 120D1(FIG. 2) may be shopped along merchandising side 122 a or 122 b.Likewise, intersecting display side 120D2 (positioned, in the exemplarypallet display 100 of FIG. 2, opposite intersecting display side 120D1,both of which display sides are along a diagonal PD across palletdisplay 100) may be shopped along merchandising side 122 c or 122 d.Even product display sides 120 that are more than 180 degrees apart fromeach other, yet which face towards a common merchandising side 122, suchas product display sides 120 a and 120D1 in FIG. 2, permit a consumer toview products on such commonly-facing product display sides 120 at thesame time along common merchandising side 122 a, even though theproducts are physically separated or differentiated from one another.

As may be appreciated, a pallet display 100 formed in accordance withthe principles of the present invention permits a greater variety ofproducts to be displayed than permitted by a typical pallet display.Pallet display 100 may also be formed to provide surface area fordisplaying information in an efficient manner which does not impinge onareas that may be dedicated to displaying products. As described above,front lip or panel 116 may bear display information. In addition, sidewalls of product display units 120 provide surface area on which displayinformation may be provided either directly or on a separate panelaffixed to side walls 130. Because a pallet display 100 having more thanone product display side 120 along a merchandising side 122 allowsproducts from different product segments or even different categories tobe viewed at the same time while still being physically or spatiallydifferentiated from one another, it may be desirable to provide displayinformation concerning the connection between the various differentproducts displayed. Products that may be used in conjunction with oneanother may be displayed on adjacent product display units 110 withproduct display sides 120 angled at an acute angle with respect to eachother. A panel bearing consumer education-type information (such as useof the displayed products in conjunction with one another) may beprovided near the adjacent product display units 110, such as along anexposed side face 130 of a product display unit 110 carrying the productcorresponding to the information or a product display unit 110 adjacentthe product display unit 110 carrying the product corresponding to theinformation. If one of the product display units 110 b has a back wall132 b backing against the back wall 132 c of another product displayunit 110 c, then a wider panel than possible along only one side of asingle product display unit 110 may be provided across the exposed sidewalls 130 b, 130 c of the abutting product display units 110 b, 110 c(see FIG. 2). For instance, information may be provided pertaining toitems that can or even should be used together with the intendedpurchase item. The provision of information panels near differentproduct display sides that are distinguished or differentiated from oneanother allows the manufacturer/retailer to educate consumers andtherefore improves the consumer's use of the intended purchase items,and increases purchase volume of different items or products which maynot even have been purchased had the consumer not been educated as tothe benefits of use of such associated products in conjunction with oneanother. A consumer that did not realize such different item or productis beneficial to use with the intended purchase item may not haveintended to buy such different item or product but for their respectiveproduct display units 110 being positioned adjacent one another butspatially differentiated from one another, and, more preferably, withunaligned respective product display sides. Or, a consumer that hadforgotten to purchase such different item or product as displayed on theadjacent product display units 110, or even had no intention of buyingsuch different item or product, would be more likely to purchase suchproduct thanks to the configuration of pallet display 100 and theorientation of the product display units 110 thereof.

Typically, it is desirable to design a pallet display to maintain itsaesthetic appeal as it is shopped down (i.e., as products displayedthereon are removed for purchase). Accordingly, a pallet display 100formed in accordance with the principles of the present invention may beformed to have a display shelf 110 with a shelf depth SD selected inview of the depth of the products to be displayed thereon to satisfy anyof a variety of display considerations. For instance, because productson pallet displays generally are not “faced” (i.e., brought to the frontof the shelf by store-keepers or clerks), the shelf depth may beselected such that the products are readily accessible (considering,without limitation, ergonomics, safety, and convenience) even if onlyone product is left on the shelf, at the back of the shelf.Additionally, or alternatively, shelf depth SD may be selected so that aproduct remains readily visible even if it is in the back of the shelf.Additionally, or alternatively, shelf depth SD may be selected so thatstructural stability is not affected if a given shelf is empty and theshelf above that given shelf is still loaded with products. Such shelfdepth typically does not extend to the center of the pallet on which thepallet display rests, leaving empty, unused space at the center of thepallet display. As may be appreciated, it is concurrently preferable toreduce the amount of empty, unused space in the middle of the display.Thus, in accordance with the principles of the present invention, it ispreferable to have at least one product display unit 110 with a backwall 132 backing onto a back wall 132 of another product display unit110, as may be appreciated with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. It may bestbe appreciated with particular reference to FIG. 2 that with productsstocked up to abutting back walls 132 b, 132 c of abutting productdisplay units 110 b, 110 c, substantially no empty space is left betweenproduct display units 110 b, 110 c and the footprint occupied by productdisplay units 110 b, 110 c is efficiently and fully packed withproducts. In the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, product displayunits 110 with abutting back walls 132 are arranged along a diagonal PDof pallet 124 on which pallet display 100 rests. Such arrangementadvantageously permits more facings for products than in typical palletdisplays, because the diagonal of a pallet or pallet footprint is longerthan either side of the pallet or pallet footprint along which typicalpallet display facings are provided. However, other arrangements ofproduct display units 110 with abutting back walls 132 are within thescope of the present invention. In particular, arrangement of productdisplay units with abutting back walls to reduce empty, unused space inthe overall display is a principle of the present invention that neednot be limited to a pallet display, but may, instead, be applied toother product displays, particularly freestanding product displays.

As discussed above, a pallet display 100 may be formed in accordancewith the principles of the invention to maximize the number of productsdisplayed within a given display footprint defined by a pallet. Thus,empty space is preferably significantly reduced. Any remaining emptyspace within the central area of assembled pallet display 100 may becovered or capped or filled with a pallet filler, as is typical in theart, and as will be described in further detail below.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a palletdisplay is configured for placement on a pallet or within a palletfootprint, but to occupy a footprint other than that of a full pallet.Although pallet displays have been designed to occupy half the footprintof a pallet, prior half-pallet displays have been designed to occupy arectangular footprint, allowing another half-pallet display to occupythe remaining rectangular footprint on the pallet. For example, standardpallets are a 40 inch (101.6 cm)×48 inch (1219.2 cm) rectangle, andtherefore standard pallet displays occupy a 40 inch (101.6 cm)×48 inch(1219.2 cm) rectangular footprint. If the manufacturer or retailerdesires to ship or to display only half the quantity of products thatwould be held in a full-size pallet display, a half-pallet display maybe used to display half a pallet's worth of products on a half-palletfootprint of 40 inch (101.6 cm)×24 inch (60.96 cm) or 20 inch (50.8cm)×48 inch (1219.2 cm). In accordance with the principles of thepresent invention, in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, and as may bebest appreciated with reference to FIG. 2, exemplary pallet display 100is symmetrical about pallet diagonal PD, each half occupying atriangular footprint approximately half the total footprint area of thepallet 124. Thus, a half-pallet display 102 such as illustrated in FIG.3 may be formed in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention to occupy an other-than-rectangular and other-than-squarefootprint, such as by forming pallet display 100 with only the productdisplay units 110 along one side of pallet diagonal PD as shown in FIG.2. As such, when a half-pallet display 102 formed in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention is placed on a given pallet fordisplay of products thereon, only a correspondingly-shaped half-palletdisplay can be readily placed on the remaining unoccupied space on thatgiven pallet. Moreover, the products in a product display unit 110 lyingalong pallet diagonal PD may be loaded to back up against a back wall132 lying along pallet diagonal PD, such back wall not displaying anyproducts. Back wall 132 may back against a back wall of another productdisplay unit of another triangular-shaped pallet display, therebysubstantially eliminating empty space captured behind product displayunits.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, that isseparate and independent from the above-described features, yet whichmay be combined with any or all of the above-described features,exemplary pallet display 100 may be formed from a plurality of productdisplay units 110 that are movable with respect to one another. A palletdisplay 100 formed in such manner need not be shipped pre-assembled.Instead, the product display units 110 may be packed in a more compactmanner, such as stacked or packed against one another, filling theotherwise empty space on the shipping pallet. Such modularitysubstantially eliminates empty space during transport, therebysignificantly increasing transport capacities and efficiency overall, aswill become evident with reference to the exemplary illustration of FIG.4.

An exemplary manner of compactly packing a plurality of product displayunits 110 (not assembled together to form a pallet display) isillustrated in FIG. 4, in which the ten product display units 110 of theexemplary pallet display 100 of FIGS. 1 and 2, each product display unit110 comprising a multi-level single (monolithic) display tray, arearranged to fit in a shipping footprint that is half the area of astandard shipping pallet 134. As such, two pallet displays 100 may bepacked and shipped on a single pallet, thereby effectively doubling thenumber of pallet displays that may be shipped in a given shippingvolume. In accordance with this aspect of the present invention, eachpallet carries two pallet displays, so that the truckload capacity isthereby doubled as well. The increased shipping capacity results in costsavings because more products can be shipped in a given shipment,resulting in fuel savings as well as time savings (time required notonly to ship a given number of products, but also loading time, sincetwo pallet displays are loaded together).

The shipping footprint in which the ten display units 110 are arrangedin the example of FIG. 4 may be a 20 inch (50.8 cm)×48 inch (1219.2 cm)area. Each display unit 110 thus may have a unit width UW of not morethan approximately 14 inches (35.56 cm), and preferably not more thanapproximately 13⅜ inches (33.973 cm), and a unit depth UD of not morethan approximately 6½ inches (16.51 cm), and preferably not more thanapproximately 6⅜ inches (16.193 cm). A shroud 140 may be provided toprotect as well as to contain the display units 110 in the shippingfootprint. Such shroud 140 may be a plastic film material (e.g., shrinkwrap, such as made from polyethylene), such as commonly used to wraparound products stacked on a shipper pallet, or a paper-based materialsuch as a heavy-duty paper like Kraft paper, or a more rigid paper-basedmaterial such as paperboard or corrugated paperboard or cardboard. [ISTHAT WHAT IS MEANT BY “KRAFT” IN THE SPEC SHEET? HOW IS THE MATERIALSELECTED? IS KRAFT PAPER NOT DESIRABLE FOR CERTAIN SITUATIONS? IF SO,PLEASE ELABORATE.] Preferably, sufficient space is left within shroud140 to permit insertion of corner posts 142 or other desired shipping orpacking materials to protect or to stabilize display units 110. Also,any pallet fillers 150 (material used to fill or to cap any emptyinterior spaces in the pallet display to be assembled from productdisplay units 110) may be folded or otherwise compacted and packed tofit within the shipping footprint (such as by being packed on top ofproduct display units 110). Further assembly materials 144 or assemblyinstructions 146 or other materials useful or necessary for the assemblyof product display units 110 into an assembled pallet display 100 mayalso be packed within the compact shipping footprint to achieve thedesired increase in shipping capacity.

Because pallet displays are normally pre-loaded with products for simpleand ready placement on the retailer's store upon arrival, it ispreferable that each product display unit 110 of the present inventionis pre-loaded with products before being packed and shipped on a pallet.It is particularly preferable for a pallet display formed as in theinventive embodiment of FIG. 4 (to be disassembled and packed in acompact manner to allow two pallet displays to be shipped in adisassembled form on the same pallet) to be pre-loaded with products sothat despite the added step a retailer has of assembling the palletdisplay, the retailer does not also have to load the display withproducts. Upon arrival at a retail store, one full set of packeddisassembled display units 110 may be shifted to another pallet andunpacked and assembled into a pallet display 100. The other full set ofpacked display units 110 may be unpacked and assembled into anotherpallet display 100 on the pallet on which it was shipped, or on anotherpallet. If desired, adjacent product display units 110 c, 110 d (seeFIG. 2) may be coupled together to form a foldable unit having at leasttwo product display units 110 that may be angled with respect to eachother. Such foldable unit shares a side wall that stabilizes the pair ofunits when they are moved, thus facilitating transport of two productdisplay units together.

An exemplary manner of assembling a plurality of product display units110 from a disassembled packed configuration as in FIG. 4 into anassembled pallet display such as in FIGS. 1 and 2 is illustrated inFIGS. 5 and 6. To facilitate proper placement of individual productdisplay units 110, such as to insure desired spacing and angularrelationships, pallet display base 152 may be provided. Pallet displaybase 152 may be formed from a unitary piece or from more than oneelement coupled together (with or without separate coupling or fasteningelements). Preferably, although not necessarily, pallet display base 152is formed of a sufficiently sturdy material, such as corrugatedpaperboard, to withstand relative shifting of a product display unit 110with respect thereto, without deforming to a degree that pallet displaybase 152 cannot provide its placement-guiding role. In the exemplaryembodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5, pallet display base 152 is formed from areceiving section 160 and an insert section 170.

Exemplary receiving section 160 of exemplary pallet display base 152 ofFIGS. 5 and 6 is formed with one or more receiving platforms 162 shapedto guide the proper placement of a product display unit 110 thereon withrespect to a pallet 124 or pallet footprint on which pallet display 100is to be assembled from product display units 110. In the exemplaryembodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6, receiving platforms 162 are in the form ofwells 164 having at least one upwardly extending side wall 166 and thusnot only indicate the proper placement location for a given productdisplay unit 110, but also guide proper placement of a given productdisplay unit 110 in the proper location. Exemplary receiving platforms162 of receiving section 160 guide placement of two pairs of productdisplay units 110 to be positioned along pallet diagonal PD and atopposite corners of a pallet 124 or pallet footprint. Receivingplatforms 162 not only guide the distance between such product displayunits 110, but also guide alignment of such product display units 110such that front edges 114 of product display shelves 112 of the pairs ofproduct display units 110 to be aligned with each other at opposite endsof pallet diagonal PD are aligned and substantially coplanar.

Exemplary insert section 170 of exemplary pallet display base 152 ofFIGS. 5 and 6 is shaped and configured to be inserted into a firstreceiving region 168 in receiving section 160. A complementary secondreceiving region 172 may be formed in insert section 170 such as in theform of a cut-out area complementing first receiving region 168 so thatinsert section 170 and receiving section 160 can be coupled togethersuch as by interlocking without further coupling or attachment elements(e.g., adhesives or staples). A spacer element 169 may be formed as aresult of the provision of first receiving region 168, and may serve tostabilize the product display units 110 located at receiving platforms162. It will be appreciated that if first receiving section 168 isdownwardly facing, as in the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6, theninsert section 170 may be placed on pallet 124 or a pallet footprintfirst and receiving section 160 may then be placed over insert section170. Exemplary insert section 170 has one or more guide walls 174(preferably vertically extending walls) shaped and configured andpositioned along insert section 170 to guide the proper placement ofproduct display units 110 with respect to one another and with respectto a pallet 124 or pallet footprint on which pallet display 100 is to beassembled from product display units 110, as may be appreciated withreference to FIG. 6.

As noted above, pallet fillers 150 may be provided to fill empty spacebetween the individual product display units 110 of pallet display 100.Pallet fillers 150 may be formed from a unitary piece or from more thanone element coupled together (with or without separate coupling orfastening elements). In the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6,pallet fillers 150 include fillers formed from elements that aresubstantially similar or identical to the elements of pallet displaybase 152. Formation of pallet fillers 150 from a receiving sectionsubstantially identical to the receiving section 160 of pallet displaybase 152, and an insert section substantially identical to insertsection 170 of pallet display base 152 advantageously facilitatesassembly of pallet display 100 by reducing the number of differentelements that must be differentiated from one another and the differenttypes of blanks required to be formed for assembly of pallet display100. Accordingly, description of the formation of pallet fillers 150 iswith reference to receiving section 160 and insert section 170 of palletdisplay base 152 of the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6, with theunderstanding that other shapes and forms and configurations of palletfillers are within the scope of the present invention.

Preferably, pallet fillers 150 are put into position over productdisplay units 110 once product display units 110 have been arranged intothe desired configuration of a completely assembled pallet display 100.With reference to the exemplary pallet fillers 150 of FIGS. 5 and 6, areceiving section 160 such as the receiving section 160 of palletdisplay base 152 has receiving platforms 162 in the form of wells 164that may be placed over to receive the tops of product display units 110which have been placed within the corresponding wells 164 of thereceiving section 160 forming pallet display base 152. If desired, atleast one of walls 166 may be contoured, such as by scalloping 167, toenhance the aesthetics of filler materials 150 as assembled over productdisplay units 110. Spacer element 169 of pallet fillers 150 may assistspacer element 169 of pallet display base 152 in stabilizing productdisplay units 110 whose positions are guided by pallet display 152.Insert section 170 may be coupled with receiving section 160 to formfiller materials 150 in a manner similar to the coupling of suchsections to form pallet display base 152. Although FIG. 6 illustratespositioning of filler materials 150 before positioning of productdisplay units 110 with respect to insert sections 170 of pallet displaybase 152 and filler materials 150, it will be appreciated that allproduct display units 110 may be assembled with respect to palletdisplay base 152 before positioning filter materials 150 in the spaceremaining between the product display units 110 once positioned to formthe assembled pallet display 100.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, whichoptionally, though not necessarily, may be implemented in conjunctionwith any or several or none of the above-described inventive features, apallet display may be formed to permit at least one product display unitto be disassembled from the rest of the pallet display and to be usedfor another type of product displaying purpose. As illustrated in theexemplary embodiment of FIG. 7, an individual product display unit 210,similar to or the same as a product display unit 110 making up palletdisplay 100 of FIG. 1, of a pallet display such as pallet display 100may be disassembled from the assembled pallet display and used as apower wing (also known as a side wing or sidekick, all such termsdenoting a product display designed to hang from a store fixture).Product display unit or power wing 210 of the exemplary embodiment ofFIG. 7 is illustrated positioned along the side of an endcap 202(merchandising space located substantially perpendicular to and at theend of a store aisle 200, such as the free end of a gondola fixture 204typically having shelving 206 along two longer sides extending along astore aisle). Such placement of product display unit 210 permitsproducts to be displayed at an end of a store aisle, where products aretypically positioned for prominent display (shoppers readily viewproducts along endcaps while walking down the main drive aisle of astore, particularly when passing by, but not going down, a series ofaisles). Thus, although, as described above, a pallet display isgenerally positioned in a prominent location for sales, when a palletdisplay formed in accordance with this principle of the presentinvention is shopped down, a product display unit for remaining productsis ready for placement at another prominent location for sales. Productdisplay unit 210 can be placed at the aisle which is the home locationfor the product displayed by product display unit 210, or at the end ofan aisle for related products for cross-merchandising purposes. It willbe appreciated that such multi-function capability of a product displayunit 110, 210 to be formed into an assembled pallet display 100 as wellas to be used as an individual display unit, such as a power wing asillustrated in FIG. 7, renders a pallet assembly formed with suchproduct display unit a sustainable design (i.e., an environmentallysustainable or environmentally conscious design).

Although pallet display 100 of FIG. 6 need not be formed of productdisplay units 210 that may serve the multiple functions of being a partof an assembled pallet display as well as being capable of functioningas a separate product display unit (such as a power wing for mounting atan endcap), FIG. 6 nonetheless may be referenced for illustrating onemanner of assembling a sustainable pallet display formed in accordancewith the above principle of the present invention to have amulti-functional product display unit 110, 210. Insert section 170, usedin the embodiment of FIG. 6 in both pallet display base 152 as well aspallet filler materials 150, may be equipped with connection elements176 configured for separable connection of a product display unit 210thereto. Connection elements 176 may be in any desired form known bythose of ordinary skill in the art as capable of achieving the desiredpurpose of securing a product display unit 210 in place yet alsopermitting removal of a product display unit 210 for use as a side kick210. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 6, connection element 176 maybe a recess shaped and configured to receive a first end 177 of amounting clip 178. A recess may be provided in back wall 132 of productdisplay unit 210 for mounting product display unit 210 on a second end179 of mounting clip 178. A similar manner of mounting side kick 210 atan end cap may be used. Specifically, mounting clip 178 may remain onthe back of side kick 210 and hooked onto a horizontal portion of a wirecage at an end cap.

It will be appreciated that the dimensions (e.g., height, width, depth)of a pallet display or a separable product display unit (to be used asanother type of product displaying element such as a power wing) formedin accordance with the principles of the present invention may be set bythe retailer. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited tospecific dimensions and the various principles of the present inventionmay be applied to conform to dimensional requirements imposed by theindustry. The total weight of a pre-loaded pallet display formed inaccordance with the principles of the present invention may also be setby the retailer or government standards. Accordingly, features of thepresent invention relating to the weight of a pre-loaded pallet displayformed in accordance with the principles of the present invention (suchas the weight-bearing capability of the material from which a palletdisplay or at least a product shelf is formed) also are not limited bythe present invention, but, instead, by retailers and/or the industry ingeneral and/or the government or other regulatory officials.

It will be appreciated that features described with respect to oneembodiment typically may be applied to another embodiment, whether ornot explicitly indicated. Moreover, various features of the exemplaryembodiments are to be understood as exemplary and may be modified asdesired without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. For instance, although scalloping is illustrated along theedges of one or more of the upwardly extending side walls 166 of wells164, such edges may be straight or otherwise shaped. Likewise, edgesillustrated as straight in the exemplary embodiments may be scalloped orotherwise contoured. The top edge of the front lip 116 of each productdisplay shelf 112 or individual product display tray 113 may not behorizontal, but, instead, may be shaped to include more information orimages (such as appropriate for the product being displayed). It willfurther be appreciated that the various features hereinafter describedmay be used singly or in any combination thereof. Therefore, the presentinvention is not limited to only the embodiments specifically describedherein.

While the foregoing description and drawings represent exemplaryembodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that variousadditions, modifications and substitutions may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Inparticular, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that thepresent invention may be embodied in other specific forms, structures,arrangements, proportions, and with other elements, materials, andcomponents, without departing from the spirit or essentialcharacteristics thereof. One skilled in the art will appreciate that theinvention may be used with many modifications of structure, arrangement,proportions, materials, and components and otherwise, used in thepractice of the invention, which are particularly adapted to specificenvironments and operative requirements without departing from theprinciples of the present invention. For example, elements shown asintegrally formed may be constructed of multiple parts or elements shownas multiple parts may be integrally formed, the operation of elementsmay be reversed or otherwise varied, the size or dimensions of theelements may be varied. The presently disclosed embodiments aretherefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and notrestrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appendedclaims, and not limited to the foregoing description.

1. A pallet display comprising: a plurality of independently formedproduct display units, each product display unit comprising a verticallyextending tray having a plurality of product display levels verticallyspaced from one another; and a pallet display base shaped and configuredto receive and to position said plurality of product display units withrespect to one another to form an assembled pallet display fittingwithin a predetermined footprint with the boundaries of thepredetermined footprint circumscribing said assembled pallet display;wherein: said plurality of independently formed product display unitsare dimensioned to be packed together, loaded with products on saidproduct display levels, to fit within a fraction of the predeterminedfootprint.
 2. A pallet display as in claim 1, wherein said plurality ofproduct display units are dimensioned to be packed together to fitwithin half the area of a predetermined shipping-pallet-sized footprint.3. A pallet display as in claim 2, wherein said plurality of productdisplay units are dimensioned to be packed together with a palletdisplay base and pallet filler materials to fit within half the area ofa predetermined shipping-pallet-sized footprint.
 4. A pallet display asin claim 1, wherein: each said product display unit has a depthextending in a first direction and a width extending in a seconddirection substantially perpendicular to said first direction; and thepredetermined footprint is a right quadrilateral with a first dimensionno less than three times said product display depth, and a seconddimension no less than the sum of said product display depth and threetimes said product display width. 5-7. (canceled)
 8. A pallet displayhaving a first merchandising side and a second merchandising sideadjacent and transverse to said first merchandising side, said palletdisplay comprising: two product display sides facing toward each otherand extending along and facing said first merchandising side; and twoproduct display sides facing toward each other and extending along andfacing said second merchandising side; wherein: at least one of saidproduct display sides extending along said first merchandising sideextends in a direction transverse to said first merchandising side; andat least one of said product display sides comprises a plurality ofvertically spaced display trays.
 9. A pallet display as in claim 8,wherein at least one of said product display sides extending along saidsecond merchandising side extends in a direction transverse to saidsecond merchandising side.
 10. A pallet display as in claim 8, whereineach product display side is formed by a product display unit having avertically extending tray with a plurality of product display levelsvertically spaced from one another.
 11. A pallet display as in claim 10,wherein said product display levels of at least one of said productdisplay units have aligned and coplanar front edges.
 12. A palletdisplay as in claim 11, wherein all product display levels of all saidproduct display units have aligned and coplanar front edges.
 13. Apallet display as in claim 10, wherein two product display units have aback wall, said back walls of said two product display units backingagainst each other.
 14. A pallet display as in claim 13, wherein saidtwo product display units having back walls backing against each otherextend along a diagonal of said pallet display.
 15. A pallet display asin claim 8, wherein: said merchandising sides are substantiallyperpendicular to each other and meet at a corner; and said palletdisplay comprises at least one product display side extending across thecorner at which said merchandising sides meet.
 16. A method of shippinga pallet display in a predetermined shipping pallet footprint area andassembling said pallet display in a predetermined display palletfootprint area greater than said predetermined shipping pallet footprintarea, said method comprising: packing into a space of half thepredetermined shipping pallet footprint a plurality of product displayunits each having a monolithic vertically extending tray with aplurality of product display levels vertically spaced from one another;and unpacking said plurality of product display units and arranging saidplurality of product display units in said predetermined display palletfootprint area.
 17. A method as in claim 16, wherein at least twoproduct display units have a plurality of product display levelsvertically spaced from one another with aligned and coplanar front edgesalong a front face of the product display unit, said method furthercomprising arranging said at least two product display units adjacenteach other with their front faces unaligned with respect to each other.18. A method as in claim 16, further comprising loading each productdisplay unit with products before packing said plurality of productdisplay units into a space of half the predetermined shipping palletfootprint.
 19. A triangular pallet display having a first merchandisingside, a second merchandising side perpendicular to said firstmerchandising side, and a non-merchandising side extending between andat an acute angle with respect to said first and second merchandisingsides, wherein: products are displayed along only said first and secondmerchandising sides such that upon placement of said pallet display on aquadrilateral pallet footprint, products are displayed on only one sideof the right quadrilateral pallet diagonal and no products are displayedalong the other side of the right quadrilateral pallet footprintdiagonal.
 20. A pallet display as in claim 19, wherein said triangularpallet display comprises at least one product display side extendingalong and transverse to one of said merchandising sides.
 21. A palletdisplay as in claim 8, wherein: said first and second merchandisingsides are greater than 180 degrees apart; and said two product displaysides of each of said first and second merchandising sides are less than180 degrees apart.